Matrox Medical Perspectives with Avnet Technology Solutions

Welcome to Perspectives, a dialog with industry partners sharing their experiences and solutions with George Rigas, business development manager for medical imaging, Matrox Graphics Inc.

In this issue, we have the pleasure to speak with Steven Stevens, Country Manager, Avnet Technology Solutions. Avnet, inc. (NYSE:AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products, and embedded technology serving customers in more than 70 countries worldwide.

George Rigas: What does Avnet offer that complement Matrox medical imaging solutions?

Steven Stevens: Avnet covers the complete scope for end users and partners. First of all, we feel privileged to speak directly with doctors and clinical users to really understand their needs. This stage of pre–sales is crucial, as only a thorough understanding of the needs can lead to an ideal solution. Quite often we then offer a configuration to test. This configuration is mostly a set of two (EIZO) monitors and a Matrox medical board. Customers are charmed by the stability of the software driver, and by the fact that one driver fits all medical boards–a huge economy on support costs compared to other vendors. Following this is the delivery, which we ensure within a week for the most popular models. If the partner or user wishes, we can also offer our European Integration center in Tongeren (BE) where we can take care of the complete staging of a system.

GR: With so many different displays in your product offering, what additional services do you provide to help customers make a selection?

SS: This is part of the attitude. What 'we' want to sell is not important; it all comes down to what the customer 'needs'. I prefer selling a modest 19" monitor instead of a dual 5-Megapixel monitor, if that is what is needed. We see it over a long period of time. We want satisfied customers who will come back to us for an additional or recurrent purchase, and in order to know what a customer wants, we need to 'observe' and 'listen'.

GR: The medical imaging space is segmented into different markets. If we focus on the radiology, PACS, and mammography medical imaging markets, what are some of your key customer requirements?

SS: Consultancy to find the right equipment, the ability to test this equipment, swift delivery, and an efficient after—sales service. Oh yes, I almost forgot, a competitive price. :-)

GR: We recently started shipping the new Matrox Xenia Series. Our target was for it to be the simplest solution for this medical imaging market. Can you explain the simplicity and benefits of Xenia for your users?

SS: Well, installing a configuration, which most often is composed of two diagnostic displays and an administrative display, can result in annoying conflicts between graphics boards. With Xenia, it's simpler than that since Xenia combines all advantages within one board. On top of that, there is the impressive set of software tools to really mould your desktop and applications to your needs.

GR: You have been a long-time Matrox medical imaging partner supporting the Matrox MED, RAD, and the AuroraVX Series for many years. Since Matrox Xenia Series is relatively new, what are some of your initial customer experiences with this solution?

SS: True, George. We've been working with Matrox for some 15 years now. Xenia was launched at ECR and we're presenting it to our specialized partners now. The ease of use and ease of installation are highly appreciated. Partners who do a thorough Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) calculation will certainly go the Xenia way.

GR: And how about their service and support needs?

SS: Over the years we've seen that Matrox boards are extremely reliable. On top of that so are Matrox drivers. An update with newer driver versions really is the only thing they need.

GR: Is there something that Matrox Xenia is missing?

SS: How much time do I have to think about this one?

GR: So what can we expect in the coming months from Avnet? What are you working on?

SS: There is a lot going on. We've started a cooperation with S–Cape—a manufacturer who integrates our medical monitors into IP65 compliant devices for operating theatres; we'll be launching some innovative displays that cut power consumption in a spectacular way; soon we'll start the distribution of Infocus projectors; and we now also have the ErgonoFlex mounting solutions.

About Avnet Technology Solutions

Avnet Technology Solutions is an operating group of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT), representing US $7.04 billion in global sales annually. As a leading distributor of IT solutions in more than 30 countries, Avnet Technology Solutions improves how technology products and services are defined and delivered to businesses worldwide. For more information, visit Avnet Technology Solutions.

About Avnet

Avnet, Inc. (NYSE: AVT), a Fortune 500 company, is one of the largest distributors of electronic components, computer products and embedded technology in the world. Avnet accelerates its partners' success by connecting the world's leading technology suppliers with a broad base of more than 100,000 customers and providing cost-effective, value-added services and solutions. For the fiscal year ended June 27, 2009, Avnet generated revenue of $16.23 billion. For more information, visit Avnet.

About Matrox Medical Imaging Solutions

Matrox display controller boards for medical imaging offer a wide range of display output options, resolution capabilities, and features to suit the demanding needs of medical imaging professionals. Matrox Xenia is the first native PCI Express board with all–digital triple-monitor support in a single-slot and the built-in flexibility to drive practically any known medical or non-medical display configuration.

Designed for use with a broad range of 8- or 10-bit grayscale and/or color displays in a variety of configurations, Matrox Xenia Pro includes 1,024 MB of on-board RAM, supporting growing image volume requirements and display resolutions from less than 1MP to as high as 8MP. With new technology to ensure optimum calibration (including Matrox DLC™ and 8/10/13-bit gamma tables), plus additional development potential for increasing hardware-accelerated performance via hardware LUTs and multiple hardware window IDs, Xenia is an expandable solution and a solid investment for medical imaging facilities.